fan

/fæn/

//fæn// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"fan" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“fan” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,270 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,270
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A hand-held device consisting of concertinaed material, or slats of material, gathered together at one end, that may be opened out into the shape of a sector of a circle and waved back and forth in...

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

fan vs fi
33% similar
fan vs FL
0% similar
fan vs FM
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for fan
PropertyValue
Headwordfan
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/fæn/
Letters3
Frequency rank#1,270
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “fan” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). fan lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for fan is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /fæn/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,270 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 7 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Zero misspellings are on record for fan in our index, since its letter pattern doesn't lend itself to common typo substitutions. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "fi", "FL", "FM", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: Inherited from Middle English fan, inherited from Old English fann (“a winnowing, fan”), derived from Latin vannus (“fan for winnowing grain”), derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). Cognates *Latin ventus (“wind”) *Dutch wan (“winnowing bas… The correct English form is fan, spelled F-A-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    A hand-held device consisting of concertinaed material, or slats of material, gathered together at one end, that may be opened out into the shape of a sector of a circle and waved back and forth in order to move air towards oneself and cool oneself.
  2. 2
    An electrical or mechanical device for moving air, used for cooling people, machinery, etc.
  3. 3
    The action of fanning; agitation of the air.
  4. 4
    Anything resembling a hand-held fan in shape, e.g., a peacock’s tail.
  5. 5
    An instrument for winnowing grain, by moving which the grain is tossed and agitated, and the chaff is separated and blown away.
  6. 6
    A small vane or sail, used to keep the large sails of a smock mill always in the direction of the wind.
  7. 7
    A section of a tree having a finite number of branches

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English fan, inherited from Old English fann (“a winnowing, fan”), derived from Latin vannus (“fan for winnowing grain”), derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). Cognates *Latin ventus (“wind”) *Dutch wan (“winnowing basket”) *German Wanne (“winnowing basket”) *Swedish vanna (“a fan for winnowing”) *Old English windwian (“to fan, winnow”). More at winnow.

Synonyms

admireraficionadobuffconnoisseurenthusiastdevoteemaniacfanfanaticfancierfancyfiendfreakgeekjunkiepartisanrooterzealot

This word in other languages

abanico(Español)éventail(Français)Fächer(Deutsch)leque(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "fan"?
"fan" is spelled F-A-N. The IPA pronunciation is /fæn/.
What does "fan" mean?
As a noun, "fan" means: A hand-held device consisting of concertinaed material, or slats of material, gathered together at one end, that may be opened out into the shape of a sector of a circle and waved back and forth in...
What words are commonly confused with "fan"?
"fan" is commonly confused with "fi", "FL", "FM". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "fan"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "fan" is /fæn/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "fan"?
Inherited from Middle English fan, inherited from Old English fann (“a winnowing, fan”), derived from Latin vannus (“fan for winnowing grain”), derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂weh₁- (“to blow”). Cognates *Latin ventus (“wind”) *Dutch wan (“win... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “fan”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is F-A-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /fæn/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “fi” - see the side-by-side comparison. fan vs fi
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list